


Prompt: Locked in a Freezer- Shiro (Voltron)

by AnaliseGrey



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [13]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Cold, Gen, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, locked in a freezer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 14:54:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15173099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaliseGrey/pseuds/AnaliseGrey
Summary: Written for my Bad Things Happen Bingo card!Vanquisherofsnails on tumblr asked: “locked in a freezer and shiro?”





	Prompt: Locked in a Freezer- Shiro (Voltron)

The sound is going to drive him insane before the cold can kill him.

Shiro twitches as somewhere above him, water drips in the cooling system, making the loud pinging noise it’s been making for the last...well he doesn’t know how long exactly. Maybe an hour or so.

The point is, it keeps happening, like clockwork, every fifteen seconds, and he is  _ very  _ close to losing his shit.

He shivers, hugging his arms tighter around himself, tucking his right arm in so it won’t be as exposed to the chill, but he knows it’s a losing battle.

He’s locked in a freezer, after all.

He’d been having such a good day, too. There hadn’t been any fighting, the planet, Laxeon, had happily agreed to join the coalition with practically no prodding from Allura. There had been some meetings, but the rest would resume the next morning, and the paladins had been given leave to go exploring as a treat. Shiro had been told that he wasn’t required, and should go explore as well.

“You’re very tense, number one.” Coran said as he’d practically shoved Shiro out of the Castle, insisting that he go enjoy himself, take in the sights, try some new food; just  _ live  _ a little.

He’d been doing just fine at first; he’d crossed paths with the others at varying points, and was just considering heading back to the Castle when he’d heard something from an alley and turned to look.

The worst part was, he hadn’t even been trying to investigate anything, was just wandering around and happened upon a group that was up to no good by accident. He hadn’t actually seen much before one of them had clocked him over the head, taking him entirely by surprise. He went down like a sack of potatoes, and he was just aware enough to hear one of them mention something about putting him somewhere to chill out, which he could more fully appreciate when he came back to full awareness locked in the damned freezer. He’s both appalled and delighted at the pun, but his sense of humor is quickly diminishing. His metal arm can’t feel the temperatures, but where it connects to his upper arm aches with cold, and he knows he’s quickly losing body heat. He’s in his civilian clothes, and while his shirt has long sleeves, the fabric is thin, breathable, which is great in hot environments, but next to useless in the cold. He’s lucky that the freezer doesn’t seem to be on full blast; he can only barely see his breath ghosting in front of him, but the chill is all-consuming, and he’s finding it harder and harder not to slip into memories of the cell blocks at the Arena. They’d always been kept cooler, and he while he doesn’t remember all of it, might  _ never  _ remember, the sense of pervasive cold has stayed with him.

He considers trying the door again, but he hasn’t had any luck so far. The door is thicker than he’d expected, and far more well-enforced than he’d thought a freezer door would be. He’d tried lighting his hand to warm himself, but the temperature difference between his metal arm and the fleshy parts above it had proved excruciating, and after choking off a scream he’d shut it down.

He’s now sitting on a box of...something. He can’t read the writing on the side, but it’s keeping him off the floor and away from the walls which are colder.

He’s starting to get sluggish, and he has the distant thought that it’s not a good thing, but he’s getting too tired to care. He just needs to rest up is all.

He’s dozing, only partially awake. It’s so cold, all he can do is shiver. He’s never warm enough, they always keep it so cold. He’s only warm when he’s fighting. He doesn’t  _ want  _ to fight anymore, but he also doesn’t want to be cold; he’s so tired of being cold. He curls forward, hoping it will help him keep warm, even when he knows better.

He’s starting to nod off again, when he thinks he hears someone call his name. That confuses him. Nobody here uses his name, just his title-  _ Champion _ . He hasn’t heard his name since he and Matt were separated, Matt screaming it as he was pulled away-

“Shiro?”

He jolts, suddenly coming back to himself. He’s not in the Arena holding cells; he’s locked in a freezer on Laxeon. He sits up straighter, still shivering uncontrollably. 

“H-hello?”

“Shiro!”

There’s muffled sounds of movement outside the freezer door, and the sound of the bolt being thrown back. When the door opens he sees Pidge and Coran, both looking shocked to see him.

“Oh shit.” Pidge runs inside, putting her hands on either side of Shiro’s face. He jerks back with a gasp; her hands burn where they touch. Coran has come up beside her, his face drawn in concern.

“Oh dear. One of the Laxines told us they thought they’d seen something happen to one of the paladins, and you were the only one we couldn’t account for.”

Pidge steps to the side as Coran moves forward to scoop him up. Shiro is still freezing, but he’s got a much better idea of where and when he is, which he guesses counts for something. He leans into Coran’s chest as they move through what turns out to be a restaurant. Pidge runs ahead to start prepping the infirmary for their arrival, and Shiro sighs when they hit the warmer outside air. He knows it’s going to get really unpleasant soon as his upper arm warms faster than the metal of his prosthetic, but for now he’s just going to enjoy the warm breeze on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> Have questions for me? Want to submit a prompt, flail at me, or just say hi? Come find me on tumblr at [Analisegrey](http://analisegrey.tumblr.com/)!


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